BBQ Sauce for Veggies

Quick side dishes are never hard to come by. Just open a can of veggies and heat. Or steam some frozen veggies in the microwave for a minute or two and you have a quick side dish. But that's all they are...quick, not tasty too.

So this recipe adds that special something to canned veggies to make them something special to serve along with your entrees. And being from the South, is there anything better than BBQ flavored foods? I think not.

Most of these items come straight from your pantry; you may just need to plan ahead a bit when shopping and pick up some bacon. Normally I would use the pre-cooked and crumbled variety by the dressings in the market, but this one needs that extra touch...bacon grease. Not much grease, but just enough to add flavor to the sauce. Trust me, it is worth those few extra calories to have that bacon fat in the pan while cooking the onion.

So here is a quick and tasty way to fix canned veggies. Try it with green bean, lima beans, yellow wax beans, or field peas. Let me know if you discover other veggies this will taste great with!

BBQ Canned Veggies

6-10 slices bacon (depends on your bacon taste meter)
1/2 c chopped sweet onion (I only use Vidalia onions)
1/2 c ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 cans of veggies (well drained)

Brown the bacon until it is crisp and then use a paper towel to pat it dry to soak up some of the grease. Pour out most of the bacon drippings from the pan, but reserve just enough to saute the onions (1 Tbl or so). Saute the onions until lightly browned. Add the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 

In a large baking dish or casserole dish, add the 2 cans of well drained veggies. Pour the sauce over the veggies. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

*I have not tried this with canned potatoes, but I imagine it would be delicious also. Or how about adding in a little cooked sausage or ground beef, yum.